Question: Write the following expression in its most factored form: $8x-18$
Answer: To factor a polynomial, you should first try to find the greatest common factor of all the terms. The factors of $8x$ are $1$ $2$ $4$ $8$ , and $x$ and the factors of $-18$ are $1$ $2$ $3$ $6$ $9$ , and $18$ The greatest common factor of $8x$ and $-18$ is $2$ We can factor out the $2$ and put it before the parenthesis. If we divide each of the terms in the original expression by $2$ we get $\dfrac{8x}{2} = 4x$ and $\dfrac{-18}{2} = -9$ So the factored expression is $2(4x - 9)$.